RYAN's BLOG

Well summer is on its last legs and fall is on the way. While the humidity has been out of control, I have been thoroughly enjoying the warm temperatures. My sore, weak muscles work a lot better when I am warm. However, no matter how much I don’t want the seasons to change, summer will eventually surrender to fall. Time marches on regardless of our deepest hopes and wishes. Now while we can’t control the ceaseless forward motion of time, we can maybe help to control how much time a person has on this never-ending timeline.

This has been the main goal of Ballou Skies since it was formed. We have been aggressively pushing forward groundbreaking, possibly life prolonging, medical research to wage war against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and its devastating effects on the human body.

As you may recall, our first study was a double blind drug trial of the medicines, Spironolactone and Lisinopril. These medicines were proven to help to stop scarring of cardiac and skeletal muscles, one of the main symptoms of DMD that can eventually lead to death. These results were published in multiple medical journals and now can be administered for treatment of DMD patients. This treatment could possibly add precious time to these individual’s lives. Time that some take for granted.

Since this monumental success we have continued to fight back against DMD and the cruel march of time. Our hard work led to other organizations awarding our research team grants to continue this vital research. Of course, without your continued support none of this could have ever been possible. Because of generous donations, we can continue to study other drugs and other muscle groups to see how much time we can add to the lives of those affected by DMD.

A study is currently being conducted at Ohio State and we are excited to see if these results show that these medications can help to reduce scarring in all parts of the muscular system. The results are a ways off, but we are hoping to continue our success! Please tell everyone everyone about BallouSkies and helps us rally others toward our cause. We will not stop our fighting until DMD is nothing but an awful memory,

Ballou Skies is participating in the 2016 Pittsburgh Day of Giving on September 21st.On this day follow this link and click Donate Now. In doing so you will be giving to a great cause and also putting us in the running for additional prizes in the form of grants and other awards given out by the Pittsburgh Foundation on September 21st. Now remember you can always donate anytime on our website but if you decide to donate on September 21st use the Pittsburgh gives link above and donate through their site.

As always, thank you for your continued support. Without generous donors, we could never have even begun to think about making as big of a difference as we have. Enjoy the last few weeks of summer and brace yourselves for the pumpkin flavored storm that will make landfall before we know it! Be well, be happy, and don’t let fear ever hold you back!